ACG San Diego: Inside the Group Connecting CEOs and Private Equity Investors in San Diego
In San Diego, the annual M&A conference is expected to be its "biggest yet"
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Connecting the San Diego M&A Community
“Over the past five years, the goal has been to bring more private equity to San Diego.”
Jay McCabe, a 20-year-plus commercial banker and board member at ACG San Diego, told me in a phone interview on a Monday afternoon. The long-time banking executive said that this year’s M&A conference will be its “biggest yet,” as it builds upon its 400-person turnout from last year.
Mr. McCabe, has been involved with ACG San Diego for the past 15 years, and stepped up to help organize the Capital Conference shortly before the pandemic, about four years ago.
He organized the first San Diego-focused M&A conference in 2019, and envisioned it as the best place to meet top deal makers in the area. Named CapCon for short, he said, it’s the place to make “meaningful connections,” with anyone involved in the M&A community.
The two-day-long gathering is for top investment bankers, private equity investors, and “middle-market” business owners seeking to exit their company in the near future. In the past, the global association has hosted fireside chats with well-known leaders including Garry Ridge, former CEO and Chairman of WD-40 as well as experts from private equity firms at The Riverside Company and HCAP Partners.
Startup Events to Private Equity Talks
“ACG has really helped me to understand the broader landscape. Once you get to a few million dollars in revenue, it's worth spending more time understanding the other side of the equation.”
Greg Moser, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of ShipCalm, told me over a Zoom chat from his office in North County San Diego. The 15-year-plus startup veteran said he was extremely active in the local ecosystem in the early days and is now spending the majority of his time learning mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals and growth equity, including learning the language of private equity.
I asked Moser for his candid thoughts on local entrepreneurial organizations like Startup San Diego, EvoNexus, and Connect San Diego, who have proudly championed early-stage companies and helped bring billions in venture capital into the region.
His response: “Those organizations have been an incredible asset to the community, especially really early stage companies. In the past, when you went to a local startup event — it was usually full with thousands of people with different business ideas.”
“Some people might have raised a small amount of capital, the more seasoned startup founders may come talk on a panel (and if you can catch them for five minutes to pick their brain, good luck),” he said. “There's also usually 1 or 2 investors hiding in the corner because they're like being pitched by wacky startup ideas.”
Now San Diego has seen record investments in the past few years, and said he still regularly attends local events and finds it exciting. In particular, he enjoys learning about new companies, and giving back to the local startup community.
Launching the CEO Circle in San Diego
“For the last three years, I've been working to help ACG build programs tailored for chief executive officers. When a CEO comes to our event — he's working with other CEOs and nobody's trying to sell him anything.”
John Morris, a successful business executive and board member at ACG San Diego, told me in a phone interview last week. Morris, who moved from Los Angeles to Del Mar San Diego before the pandemic, has spent the last 40 years supporting chief executives officers and private investors in Southern California.
I asked Mr. Morris to share the origin story behind his “CEO Circle” program which is a CEO peer-group where San Diego’s top executives discuss business and personal challenges, opportunities, and obtain leadership advice.
“It’s very similar to Vistage or Renaissance who both have CEO groups,” said Morris, who served as the CEO of Vistage Worldwide for 10 years among other organizations including Chairman of Tech Coast Angels and Launchpad which he co-founded.
“We’re serving executives anywhere between the $5 to $50 million range. Unlike most groups (which can be expensive and too much of a time commitment for some), we’re really focused on making it affordable and tailored to their individual needs.”
The annual fee to join the “CEO Circle” group is roughly $1,000 per person.
ACG San Diego, is a part of the global organization ACG which has more than 18 chapters across North America, including in San Francisco, Dallas, Vancouver, Miami, and Washington DC.